Razorbacks fans pay their last respects to Frank Broyles

Outside the football field that bears his name, Razorbacks fans paid tribute to Frank Broyles on Monday.

Author:
David Lippman , KTHV

Published:
10:19 PM CDT August 14, 2017

Updated:
10:23 PM CDT August 14, 2017

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KTHV) - Outside the football field that bears his name, Razorbacks fans paid tribute to Frank Broyles on Monday.

Flowers lined the feet of the Broyles statue outside Razorback Stadium. It was just one way that fans showed how highly they regarded the football legend.

Samson Tamijani, a junior at the University of Arkansas, was one of many students paying their respects to Broyles.

“Shaking his hand, knowing what history and what impact that man has, is completely unparalleled to anything I’ve had,” he said.

Tamijani said some of his favorite memories growing up were watching Razorback victories with his father and grandfather.

“Being able to have that pride," he said, "it’s something that continues all the way through now and I think that’s really relatable to a lot of generations of Razorbacks."

Many Arkansas students say the success the Razorbacks have had since Broyles came to Fayetteville has a big impact on morale around campus, especially on fall Saturdays.

“He’s the one that instilled that, and got John McDonald over here," Tamijani said. "He’s the one that made these huge palaces where Razorbacks shine.”

Razorbacks fans believe all the national championships and all the Olympic medalists from the athletics department Broyles developed bring positive attention to the campus, and to the state, that it wouldn’t otherwise receive.

“It puts us in the national rankings of things, because, like, people know what Arkansas is because of the sports here,” said Michael Warrick, a graduate of the U of A.

But many of today’s Razorbacks are too young to know who Broyles was, or the difference he made for the university. Those who do know think the school would be a better place if the rest learned more about his impact.

“They’d have a lot more instinctive pride,” Tamijani said.

The university installed a temporary light to shine on Broyles’ statue. It's just another gesture for a man who gave this school so much.